Five Times Percy Fell
by kalina16
Summary: Five times Percy fell, and the one time he wanted to.


**Or this could be Fives Times Percy Fell Alone and the One Time He Didn't. Or Fives Times Percy Fell and the One Time He Fell With Annabeth. Or Five Times Percy Fell and the One Time He Fell Into Tartarus. I can't title things to save my life. :P But yeah, Percy falls a lot. Thanks, Rick Riordan. The painful shattering of my heart is all thanks to you. T-T. **

**Anyways, I don't own Percy Jackson. Reviews are appreciated!**

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Fives Times Percy Fell

1.

The first time Percy falls, he falls unwilling and terrified. Young, naïve, and only beginning to understand what he truly is, Percy leaves all hope to his father and flings himself off the Gateway Arch, missing death by incineration by mere seconds. The chimera's poison courses through his body as he tumbles through the air, only confusing his terror-consumed mind more. His thoughts flit briefly to Annabeth and Grover, the closest things he's ever had to real friends, and despite the gnawing doubt and mistrust in his father's power, he cannot help but hope to Olympus that he survives the fall. How else is he supposed to save his mother and, if he gets _really_ lucky, find the lightning bolt and prevent a war between the gods? It strikes him how alone he is; he'd rather not die alone. He'd rather not die at all- there is so much more life to live. So he closes his eyes and continues to fall in fear, praying to the father he's never met. Six hundred and thirty feet is a long way to go.

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2.

The second time Percy falls, he falls over his father's domain and his home turf, the sea itself, though he'd still much rather not be falling at all. He falls just as terrified as the first time, only this time the fear is centered around Tyson, his half brother. His half brother who he now wishes dearly he had given a chance, had at least been open to considering family. The Scylla shrieks from above his head, and he can only watch in horror as the _CSS Birmingham_ explodes into flaming pieces of metal beneath him. His fear multiplies as he realizes he has no idea where Annabeth is, or if she is even alive. Once again, he is completely alone, falling to a possible (but Zeus he hopes not actual) death. Then Hermes' thermos is opened and Percy is caught in the powerful winds, buffeted across the ocean. His head strikes something and the world goes black, leaving him to complete the fall unconscious.

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3.

The third time Percy falls, he falls in a haze of agony, no room for fear at all. This time, he supposes, the fall is entirely his fault. He did, after all, willingly stay behind for what he _knew_ was a suicide mission, then proceed to blow the mountain's top, though by now he's _really _wishing he had found a more convenient way, one that didn't involve him plummeting to his once again possible-death. Hephaestus, he wagers, will not be pleased. Hopefully he won't be angered enough to where he refuses to aid Annabeth, though. _Annabeth._ That kiss is burned into Percy's mind, burning more intensely then the hideous heat against his skin. Gods, he hopes she's alright. He sincerely hopes he hasn't screwed everything up, hasn't destroyed any hope of finding Daedalus and saving the camp. He wishes he had someone with him to assure him that this wasn't the end. He _really_ wishes he had a vat of burn-relief medicine. These thoughts flash through his head in mere seconds, and before he has even descended a few hundred feet, the world fades to black, relieving him of the all-too-uninviting world he is in now.

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4.

The fourth time Percy falls, he willingly jumps, though he wishes with all his heart he hadn't. Vaulting over the side of the _Princess Andromeda_, he hurtles toward the inviting ocean, the one safeguard against the explosion he knows is coming. His insides writhe with guilt as he falls. Beckendorf. Beckendorf is still on the ship. Hadn't he sworn to himself he'd lose no one else? After Zoe, after Lee and Castor, hadn't he promised he'd die before he lost another friend? He wishes he'd stayed on the ship; he wishes he could save Beckendorf, wishes he didn't have to bring back news of his death, wishes, oh _how he wishes_ that no prophecy had ever been made, that he wouldn't have to make the choice that could lead to the death of all he loved. But there's hardly any time for regret; the ship explodes, Beckendorf's bombs doing their job well, a final testament to their master. And Percy plunges into the ocean, defeated, exhausted, and alone.

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5.

The fifth time Percy falls, it has to be the most bizarre circumstance of falling he's done yet. Way up in Alaska, far beyond the reach of the gods or any of his friends, surrounded by an army of ghosts, he slams Riptide into the ice, sending cracks through the glacier and shuddering it. His gut pulls as he summons a huge wall of icy water, ripping through the crevices in the ice, and down he plunges. He's got to start thinking through his plans better. Granted, this particular one will do the trick, and it's nice to see someone else falling with him for once, even if it is a whole bunch of undead Romans. Hazel and Frank will likely be upset with him, but this time, there is no doubt in his mind. He _will_ survive. He has too. For Hazel and Frank, for Reyna, for Camp Half-Blood, for his mother, and for _Annabeth._ These months have been the craziest of his life, but now there is nothing on land nor sea nor sky, mortal or immortal, that will stop him from seeing her again. Nothing. He falls alone again, and slightly exasperated, but this time, he falls with hope.

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...And The One Time He Wanted To.

6.

The last time Percy falls (or what he hopes is his last), he falls completely willingly. As he dangles over the abyss that leads to Tartarus, arms burning from the strain of holding onto the rocky ledge with Annabeth pulling down, he knows without a doubt this will end with another fall. It's rather annoying, really. That after all the trouble they went through to get to Rome, all they did to try to stop Gaia, he and Annabeth would end up the lost comrades, the "sacrifices" for Gaia. _No_, he thinks fiercely as he looks at Annabeth's scared, dirty, and absolutely beautiful face. This is not the end of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. This _cannot, will not _be the end of everything they've worked for, of the relationship that means so much to him that they've only just regained. Kronos couldn't end that, Rachel couldn't end that, Luke couldn't end that, months of separation couldn't end that, and now Gaia sure as Hades wouldn't end it either. They are strong; they will endure. So he looks up at Nico, ignoring the dark thoughts that this may be his last glimpse of daylight he'll ever have, and tells him to go. He has faith in them- Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, and Nico- they will be there. On the other side. He then gazes back at Annabeth, tightening his grip.

_As long as we're together._

And then Percy Jackson falls again. But this time, he does not fall alone. This time, he is fine with falling, so long as it's with her.

End.


End file.
